Labour Calls For Two-Year Deadline To Move People From LD Hospitals

Labour has called on the Government to commit to a two-year deadline to end the practice of placing vulnerable people with learning disabilities in Assessment and Treatment Units – like the former Winterbourne View – for long periods of time.

Instead, people should be given appropriate care and support at home or in the community, so that they can be closer to their friends and families and safe from the risk of abuse and neglect.

Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, said:

“The whole country was shocked by the serious abuse and appalling standards of care at Winterbourne View. Ministers promised to move people with learning disabilities out of Assessment and Treatment Units and into the community. Labour warned at the time that without a detailed plan and clear deadlines, progress on achieving this would slip. Sure enough, three years on, there has been hardly any change.

“It’s a scandal that only a third of the people who were in ATUs last April have since been transferred out and that even today, more people are being sent into them than are being discharged. Over 2,615 people – including 148 children – are still being kept away from their families and friends.

“Labour is calling on the Government to commit to giving people with learning disabilities the support they need in the community or at home by July 2016. We need clear, personal and public commitments from Ministers. It’s time that they made good on their promises.”